start in security?

rapyoke

How many people who are currently doing Information security/assurance started out in the field?

I'm just asking because I can't seem to find any entry-level positions for recent college grads in the field, and most of the postings say something along the lines of "4+ years of experience (2 of which should be in Information security)", which seems to imply that you're doing something else your first two years, such as net admin or help desk work.

dynamik

I'd say it's rare. We do occasionally pickup someone with no experience out of school, but that's the exception. I personally think you'll be a much better security professional with a few years of systems and/or network administration under your belt. It's important to understand that side of the equation. And honestly, the people who are "lucky" enough to get picked up that way often admit that they were absolutely miserable the first year or two because there was so much to learn that they felt overwhelmed and always had their nose in a book.

rapyoke

Should I lean more towards network administration, help desk, or computer forensics (continuing my current internship as a full-time job)? I'd just like to go into information security, and the forensics is definitely more unique but I don't know if 3 years in forensics will be worth the same as 3 years in network administration to a potential employer if I'm applying for a network security position.

thanks for the help.

dynamik

What interests your more? If you're looking to get more into systems (Windows/*nix), help desk is probably the easiest way to get your foot in the door. If you want to be on the networking side of things, you should try to find an entry-level networking position. Unfortunately, there aren't going to be as many of those available, so you might end up with help desk regardless. I'd try to start getting any type of related experience ASAP and start working on certifications in the area(s) that interest you the most.